Brian Binley MP said the Prime Minister should give the cold shoulder to his Liberal Democrat partners in the Coalition and reach out to former Tory supporters who backed Ukip in last week’s local elections.

The intervention comes after former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson of Blaby said David Cameron had to lead Britain out of the European Union.

The peer, who was Margaret Thatcher’s most successful chancellor, said the EU has become a "bureaucratic monstrosity" and that the benefits of leaving "would substantially outweigh the costs".

He said that he would far rather see Mr Cameron “develop an effective modus operandi with our right-of-centre UKIP cousins than continue to cosy up to the centre-left Liberal Democrat party which has proved itself repeatedly untrustworthy in its approach to the Coalition.

“We should not shy away from keeping all options on the table in bringing together our political fraternity.”

He said: “I don’t see that the Conservative party need despair in the wake of last week’s humiliation. I believe that many of those who departed from their usual support for the Conservative party to vote for Ukip last Thursday remain hungry to return to the fold.

“Smooth talking will not suffice: they want to see real change and the prospect of a Conservative government which is careful with their money, respectful of their liberties and privacy, and cautious in social policy.”

The Tory MP for Northampton South pointed out that “the combined Ukip and Conservative party vote last Thursday” was enough to return a Tory Government after 2015.

He said: “It is clear that, with the right prospectus, it should be possible to bring back together the centre-right family in this country.

“That means no more references to ‘clowns’, ‘fruit-cakes’ and ‘closet-racists’, but a clear, coherent message which can be differentiated from our political opponents (and Coalition partners).

“[There should be] no more indulging in lazy, vacuous rhetorical devices which promise to avert ‘turning to the right’ whilst ‘staying the course’, but a sensible range of policies that address the serious challenges of the day.”

He added: “For me, the first sign of this path to victory would be a clear commitment, in the Queen’s speech this week, to provide the British people finally with their say on Europe.

“I agree with the Prime Minister that there should be a referendum during the course of the next Parliament, following negotiations on a new relationship for us.

“The case for making changes in our dealings with Brussels becomes increasingly clear with every additional twist and turn in the painful struggles of the Eurozone.

“But I believe that the Prime Minister’s hand in any such negotiation would be strengthened by an early referendum, providing a clear and overwhelming mandate for the British Government to push strongly for the kind of arrangement best suited to our national interests.

“A clear commitment to holding such a referendum, delivered in this Parliament, would assuage the cynics who cite the failure to have a post-ratification plebiscite on the Lisbon Treaty.”